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Most of those melodies are me trying to find out what notes fit, and then hitting ones that don't fit in a very interesting way.

A song that sounds simple is just not that easy to write. One of the objectives of this record was to try and write melodies that continue to resonate.

A melody is not merely something you can hum.

A melody without the right rhythm hardly exists.

Melodies are just honest. They can only be what they are. Words have the capacity for deception. They're all full of subtext, and some of them are cliche and overused and vernacular. They're tricky. All I can say is, words are tricky.

Ever since I was a child I've always been very attracted to melodies. Whether I hear Jeff Beck, a choir, an ocean or the wind, there's always a melody in there.

Melody is a form of remembrance. It must have a quality of inevitability in our ears.

Melody is the single most important thing to any song, period. I don't care what anybody says, it trumps everything. Not because that's my opinion but because I think it's actually indisputable fact. The human brain retains melody easier than it retains words. It's that simple.

The composition of a single melody is born out of a bit of text, perhaps the first line, but it can also be the entire strophe; it can even be the poem's overall form.